May 25, 2021
District Attorney Jason Williams’ recent decision to prosecute two fifteen year-old boys as adults is contrary to all science regarding adolescent development and public safety. During his campaign, Mr. Williams specifically committed to hold children accountable in ways that are developmentally appropriate and to never prosecute children in adult court and never incarcerate them in adult jails or prisons.
The failures of the adult criminal legal system are vast and well-documented. It is racist, inequitable, and unjust. It is ill-equipped to adequately and properly address the myriad social, medical and mental health issues affecting our communities.
The criminal legal system is also not currently designed to address the unique needs and challenges of children and is not informed by adolescent brain development. Science and research repeatedly demonstrate the need for developmentally appropriate responses to children’s behavior and the inappropriateness and ineffectiveness of the adult criminal legal system to address those specific developmental and behavioral needs.
To be clear, learning accountability is a part of adolescent development. However, simply labeling children adults for the purpose of prosecution and punishment in our criminal legal system doesn’t teach accountability. It compounds tragedy. If New Orleans is to move toward a safer, more just, and equitable future, we need to have the courage to dismiss and dismantle the harmful and ineffective policies of the past.
